Ask Frank DaignaultFrank Daignault is recognized as an authority on surf fishing for striped bass. He is the author of six books and hundreds of magazine articles. Frank is a member of the Outdoor Writers of America and lectures throughout the Northeast.

My break open 50 cal. H&R is being used with 245 grain copper Sabot Powerbelt bullets powered by 100 grains of Hodgdon Triple7even. Rifle is equipped with a 2-7 Leupold variable scope. Ignition is a 209 shotgun primer. WE don't do minutes of angle but groups are within two inches at 100 yards. (usually, or so) .

We try to keep all components the same for both of us so that there is compatability of use in the field. A few times one of us has run out of something and used the other's. (One time in Williamstown I fired 12 shots of black powder, between a kill and a cripple) Joyce has special needs when it comes to ramming a charge so I try to have us both using something she can seat. Sabots, as opposed to patched balls which can jam, go down easily with just the right resistance. I think they fly better. The new powders don't foul like the original stuff; again, so that a girl (Joyce) is not confronted with the soot of old. This conversation is getting me all horsed!

All the black powder rifles shoot very accurately, maybe a trifle better than rifled shotguns. Accuracy is not an issue. The repeating shotgun has the edge because of the second or more shot. Joyce has gotten more muzzle deer than shotgun; I'm about even but the results I speak of includes RI where we B/P a month first, before shotgun. Long term, over the years, with a repeater you are going to double up on deer -- shoot more than one during a single encounter or miss and have it stand there and look at you.

Regarding the accuracy, I might have exaggerated that a tad. But I have an image to maintain, even here. Key in either type of rifle is the rifling. Smoothbore deer hunting is one hand behind your back.

No buckshot, though in the past I have done well with 3 inch/15 pellet OO. But now that we have rifling in all firearms it is sabots in all cases as OO would go awry. A thing that does not get enough attention is shooting a running deer with a scope, a thing we do a lot even with the muzzleloader. It happens to be one of Momma J's specialties.

A dumb story that I thought of while posting the coffee thread: We know a retired police officer who happens to hunt. He was complaining to me that he was having trouble keeping the round ball seated in his muzzleloader. That he might be missing deer because the ball had already rolled down the barrel before he fired. As a result he had taken to carrying his rifle verticle to keep the projectile in his rifle.

Another dumb story and this one is true but perhaps 30 years ago. A rookie cop while playing around with his service revolver cocked it. This was at the police station and he was alone. Of course the cylinder latch would not work and he could not figure how to un XXXX it. He decided to fire into the toilet and expend the fired round. Needless to say he was recycled back into the training class for a refresher and the report appeared in the newspaper to threw some salt into his wound.

Another story just recently, a country cop reported that his loaded not a service weapon was stolen out of his pick-up truck. A big dragnet from other towns and the state police came in to find nothing for evidence. His pick-up was unlocked and days went by as stories appeared in the newspaper on the progress of the investigation. Days later he reported he had brought the gun into his house in a locked briefcase that day and forgot about it. He is not a cop anymore.

While my late brother, Norman, was a full time police officer in Woonsocket RI he became city armoror. This was based on his hunting, target background, interest in firearms and Navy Gunnersmate background. First thing was to get all the troops to the range to qualify with their service arms. Most of the officers had been standing doing traffic in the rain for over 20 years, tossing their Sam Browns over a chair to dry after a shift. Once at the range in the hope they might be able to hit something, they couldn't get their sidearms out of the holster so rotted into place with rust and scuz.

Francis, sorry I have to write this!, (I am stifled and building up gas). Considering you and Joyce's use of semi-auto shotguns having backup ammo and you said using twelve shots black powder to finish a deer I looked up your shooting area.

It is called Iwo Jima Recreational Area where wearing a flack jacket and helmet is recommended.

I was brought up to shoot, shoot, shoot. My Dad used to roll his eyes when either Norm or me said we couldn't get a shot. If a game animal is hightailing out it costs nothing to let fly. As for safety aspects, we don't hunt whre there are other hunters around. The 12 shots in Williamstown were a sitution that called for it -- too long a story to keyboard. Joyce has the semi-auto, chosen for her early needs. I carry an 870 which I dislike because of weight, trigger pull, trigger creep.

My gallery shooting story: I found after scouting pre-season a great spot for deer--cross trails and a vitual path the deer were taking. Way up on the side of the mountain I found a tree and climbed and placed my first generation tree stand way early before the season was to start. Looking forward to the first day, one hour before dawn, I entered and climbed to sit and wait. Ten minutes went by and I am hearing crunch, crunch and then more crunch crunch on the frost covered ground floor. I am in my mind patting myself on the back for a job well down, and a sure place to get that big one. Dawn started to come and still those crunch, crunch sounds prevailed all over the side of that mountain. First light came and then as my eyes adjusted and even more dawn came I looked around and was literally sitting in a tree in the middle of a pumpkin patch of orange clad hunters I later found out were a hunting club from Beverly, Ma.

Bummed out to the max, I climbed down and removed the stand. Walking down the mountain with stand folded over one shoulder and shotgun on the other I passed down the trail with a wall on the side of the trail. I came on two hunters crutched behind the wall. I asked "what's up?" and they with hesitation looked back and said to me "I would get down if I was you!" Trust me readers you do not have to tell me twice to get down and minutes later all hell broke loose with lead and leaves flying about. Found out later the "club" was putting on a drive! Funny how I remember those green oak leaves cascading about me.

The first time I've ever experienced a drive I was the top of the mountain & my father at the bottom -we were the posters. After about 45 minutes with no sign of a deer suddenly out of the laurel exploded about 40 running deer -there were so many my eyes couldn't focus on any one & they disappeared in seconds when the drivers asked if we saw anything we both said no & had a great laugh.
I have never shot at a running deer on the first to shot - its just not worth it to me to take a chance on wounding one. So far all have been heart shots except one - buck fever.

Francis--now you gone and done it and hit one of my switches, "anti hunting" --my azz! I just busted for a new smoke pole (one of the best) and two trail cameras out in the bush working as we speak. Did I mention I am building a shooting bench for my backyard? I trashed the old picnic table hoping I can take the legs off for the shooting table. It is a project in process right now.

Regarding aw mass invasions of the unwashed newly clad in orange, I stay away from them. You know "the brown it is down" crowd because someone here has a doe permit. If you want to succeed in deer or bear hunting you have to do your homework way up front or go to a canned hunt and let someone else do it for you, while you have cocktails in the cabin.

I'm always offended by stories of how unsafe we hunters are and doubly so when it is from another hunter. Our attitudes are inspired by our experiences and I know I can't alter your experiences. But having hunted since I was eleven years old, I have never seen the kinds of things anti-hunting sentiment claims to have experienced. Recent years, what with the decline in hunting license sales, we only rarely ever meet another hunter. So rare that we find it pleasureable to talk to someone in the woods. I guess we just see hunting differently, see it through our own eyes. This position based upon hunting in the smallest, most over-populated state,where there are really no woods to speak of would qualify as extreme in any state other than RI. I would not hunt, and certainly not take my wife, if I thought there was any danger.

You have misunderstood: I have no problem with honest hunters in search of the quarry but I do have a problem with the spray and prey type of hunter that in most times leave a deer in this case trying to run on 3 and 1/2 legs, bleating in pain while some bowling bowl shaped guy runs up and pumps three more rounds into.

Must be a city thing where the cops report 38 empty casings found but no one was injured. I should have looked closer and maybe those shotgun hunters were holding their guys side ways but I was afraid to poke my head above the stone wall.